The night's events

Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump of becoming Isil's "best recruiter" during Saturday's Democratic presidential debate in a fierce condemnation of the Republican front-runner's call to ban all Muslims from entering the US.

Mrs Clinton gamely counter-punched as her rivals for the Democratic nomination criticised her record as a senator and secretary of state, but she did not wait long to make it clear who her real adversary was.

"They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists," she said. "So I want to explain why this is not in America's interest to react with this kind of fear and respond to this sort of bigotry."

Mr Trump would be the target of further criticism as the night wore on, with Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor, referring to "the fascist pleas of billionaires with big mouths", and Senator Bernie Sanders suggesting that Mr Trump is attempting to "divide us by race or where we come from".

Mrs Clinton ably fended off the attacks, however, noting that Mr O'Malley had turned to Wall St for donations throughout his political career.

That pattern continued on topics like gun control and health care, with Mrs Clinton staking out her position and countering the inevitable criticism from the two opponents she now leads comfortably in the polls.

On Syria, Mr O'Malley and Mr Sanders were also aligned against Mrs Clinton, arguing that her focus on toppling Bashar al-Assad was counterproductive to the fight against Isil.

In making the case for maintaining both objectives, Mrs Clinton may have offered Republicans a future line of attack.

"We now finally are where we need to be," she said of the fight against Isil. Polls show the American people do not share her confidence.

The debate began with a whiff on controversy, coming one day after a member of Mr Saunders' staff was caught in possession of voter data belonging to the Clinton campaign.

That led to a public spat between the Clinton and Sanders campaigns over the "stolen" data, and allegations that the Democratic Party was showing favouritism toward Mrs Clinton when it issued a harsh punishment to Mr Sanders.

Photo: 2015 Getty Images

Mr Sanders apologised for the incident during the debate, while insisting that the Democratic National Committee's punishment (which has since been revoked) was unfair.

It ended on a light note, with Mrs Clinton referencing the blockbuster film whose release largely overshadowed the debate.

That's a wrap

Clinton: "May the force be with you"

The final six words of the debate came from Mrs Clinton, and they included a shoutout to one of the many events this weekend that is overshadowing tonight's debate- the opening of Star Wars, the Force Awakens.

Clinton calls for criminal justice reform

Bernie Sanders: 'This is getting fun'

The moderators completely lost control of the debate for a few minutes there, with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders arguing back and forth about their tax plans despite pleas from David Muir for them to stop speaking.

For what it's worth, the argument centred on the fact that Sanders wants to raise taxes in order to implement truly universal healthcare. Mrs Clinton opposes all tax hikes for those making under $250,000.

A local touch

David Millward, our New England-based US correspondent, notes that Hillary Clinton has made a smart move by citing a local supermarket chain.

David MillwardHillary’s name check for Market Basket was rather clever. The supermarket chain’s business model is not unlike that of the John Lewis group in the UK with a profit sharing scheme and is something of an institution in New England, The corporate battle between two warring cousins, Arthur S. Demoulas and Arthur T. Demoulas, gripped the region . When Artie T was sacked, staff walked out and started picketing stores. Eventually Artie T was reinstated. Rather shrewd politics, given that she was speaking in New Hampshire which has 29 Market Basket stores.

Here comes Hillary

Why is O'Malley attacking so much?

Clinton answers O'Malley attack, with a laugh

Martin O'Malley is on the attack tonight (and for good reason given his polling numbers). He launched into a tirade against Hillary Clinton's "cosy" relationship with Wall Street, his indignation building with each word.

Hillary Clinton answered the attack by laughing, almost in Mr O'Malley's face, before accusing him of cosying up to Wall St throughout his own political career.

The civility that characterised this campaign for months appears to be crumbling before our eyes.

Clinton: "Everybody should" love me

Moderator David Muir asks what appeared at first to be a difficult question for Mrs Clinton to fend off.

Suggesting that she is popular with CEOs and Wall Street, Muir asks, "should business love Hillary Clinton?"

The crowd loved Mrs Clinton's responses: "Everybody should," she says with a shrug and a laugh before explaining that she wants to be the candidate of the "struggling, the striving, and the successful".

Clinton slams Trump's policies toward Muslims

Clinton distances herself from Obama over Isil?

Those watching the Democratic primaries closely are always on the lookout for attempts by Mrs Clinton to distance herself from President Barack Obama, whom she served under for four years as secretary of state.

Foreign policy is the biggest area of disagreement between the two best-known Democratic politicians, with Mrs Clinton advocating a more robust and aggressive foreign policy.

Clinton: 'The American people don't care'

Hillary Clinton thanks Mr Sanders for his apology, but says she was "distressed" when she found out that the Sanders campaign had taken the data. She then says she is prepared to move on, and that it is not an issue of particular importance to the American people.

Martin O'Malley then jumps in and decries the "bickering" between the Clinton and Sanders campaigns at a time when Americans are worried about terrorism.

Bernie's two-word apology and Hillary's acceptance of it were reasonable. But O'Malley's lame attempt to take advantage fell flat.

Why debate on a Saturday?

The previous Democratic debate was on a Saturday. The next one is too. So do the Democrats really think they can maximise viewership by holding their debates on the night of the week when the fewest Americans are watching (non-sports) TV?

No, they don't. So why the Saturday debates? That question feeds into the narrative pushed by the Sanders and O'Malley campaigns that the Democratic Party does not want a competitive primary. The party wants, they claim, to allow Mrs Clinton an easy ride to the nomination, out of view of much of the American public and avoiding a damaging campaign ahead of the general election.

When Mr Sanders was asked why the debate was on a Saturday he joked to the New York Times, "I guess Christmas Eve was booked".

Who is Bernie Sanders

A dose of controversy

A major twist in the Democratic race took place just yesterday, as Bernie Sanders sued the national Democratic party for allegedly "tipping the scales" in favour of Mrs Clinton.

A member of Mr Sanders' staff was caught improperly accessing information belonging to the Clinton campaign. The data that was breached included information on voters of strategic importance to the campaigns.

The Sanders campaign fired the staffer, but the Democratic National Committee elected to bar the campaign from access to all voter data stored by the DNC.

The DNC had already been accused of attempting to pave the way for Mrs Clinton's victory, and the latest decision only fanned the flames

Bernie Sanders

"In this case it looks like they are trying to help the Clinton campaign," Mr Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver said at a news conference, accusing the DNC of taking the Sanders campaign "hostage."

"We need our data, which has been stolen by the DNC. That's what we want back," Weaver said.

The DNC eventually relented, but not in time to avoid what has now become the central controversy of the primary election.

How do the candidates stack up?

Who are the contenders?

Hillary Clinton

Given her commanding lead for the Democratic nomination, Mrs Clinton enters the night hoping more than anything else to avoid a costly and memorable mistake. This is not Mrs Clinton's first go-around as the Democrats overwhelming favourite, however. The come-from-behind victory by Barack Obama over Mrs Clinton in 2008 proves that this is a perilous business. Her lead appears more secure this time, at least for the time being.

Bernie Sanders

A socialist far to the left of any major party candidate in recent American political history, Mr Sanders has captured the imagination of those who feel disenfranchised by elite-driven and gridlocked American politics. But he has a mountain to climb to surpass Mrs Clinton. Interestingly, though, Mr Sanders actually polls closer to Mrs Clinton in New Hampshire, where tonight's debate will take place. He represents neighbouring Vermont in the US Senate.

Martin O'Malley

The former Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor is a generation younger than his two rivals. He is well spoken, has a long track record of executive experience, and strong progressive credentials. So what is he missing? The easy answer- supporters. He is a distant third and needs a strong performance tonight to remain in the conversation.

Debate night in America

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the third Democratic presidential debate in Manchester New Hampshire. Coverage of the debate begins at the top of the hour, with the actual debating kicking off shortly thereafter. We're expecting a two hour debate, which means we'll hear plenty from all three of the remaining Democratic candidates.

A CBS News Campaign 2016 logo is projected on stage during a media walk through of the Democratic presidential candidate debate venue at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa Photo: Bloomberg